


Birds of a Feather

by sisterawesomeness



Series: Team Fortress 2: The Rogue Series [3]
Category: TF2 - Fandom, Team Fortress 2, Team Fortress 2 AU - Fandom, Wing Fortress 2
Genre: Gen, Original 10th Class, Team Fortress 2 AU, Team Fortress 2 OC - Freeform, Wing Fortress 2 - Freeform, everyone has wings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-16
Updated: 2015-10-16
Packaged: 2018-04-26 14:47:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5008789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sisterawesomeness/pseuds/sisterawesomeness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What would happen if everyone in the TF2 universe had wings? Including Sonny? Just a series of cute oneshots and fluff.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Lone Crow

**Author's Note:**

> **This is mainly just a short story to help me think. It's not cannon with the main universe Sonny is in. Consider it an alternate universe.**
> 
>  
> 
> **I own nothing but Sonny and I have to admit both "An Embarrassing Display" by ILoveTeamFortressToo and "TF2- Wing Fortress" by MadJesters1 inspired this. I suggest you check them out!**

Sonny couldn't help but look at the others… All of their wings were impressive. Pyro's wings were a bright orange and black due to him being a warbler. Medic's were a soft white from him being a dove. Soldier had bald eagle wings, Demo crossbill, Heavy albatross, Engie robin, and Scout had sparrow. They weren't as flashy as Medic's and Pyro's but they still held multiple colors and were so attune with their personalities they fitted them perfectly. Sniper's horned owl wings were a little more muted in color but his feathers were so strong and unwavering in the air it was hard to ignore, and Spy's kite wings were always so clean and neat.

Sonny couldn't help but look at her own plain black wings… And feel somewhat out of place. Medic had informed her she had crow wings. That wasn't a bad thing just unimpressive. Her wings appeared dull compared to the others and were so small it was nearly comical. Then again, she was much smaller than her own teammates. All of their wings spread out proudly behind them and hers… Hung there.

It was bad enough she was the only woman on the team, though she kept that a secret. Now she also had to deal with her wings being the dullest and most common looking of the group. It didn't help her feathers were starting to become a bit of a problem.

As a rule everyone had to preen their feathers like birds did. It kept the feathers aligned, removed dust and dirt, aided in keeping feathers waterproof, and overall was a health matter. It helped a person fly and stay clean. Showering could only help so much but preening was another matter entirely. The only problem with this was that people weren't as flexible as birds. The very closest part on the inside of the wings and most of the outside of the wing were just angled in such a manner a person couldn't reach them.

Which is where other people came in. Family and friends often preened one another though people in any type of close relationship could do it. It was a great way to bond and keep one another clean and in proper order. Although, there were places much like beauty parlors and such where one could go and just get their wings cleaned and cared for. Mainly it was for people living by themselves or perhaps just moved to a new place and didn't have anyone else to help them out. Well, that and like regular beauty places people sometimes just went there to feel better or for special occasions.

However, this is where Sonny had a bit of a problem. They were often out in the middle of nowhere or moving from base to base. So it wasn't like she could find one of these places and go there. The others didn't have this problem because they did one another's wings. After all they were teammates and had worked together for a long while. It was perhaps bound to happen they help each other out and preened one another. After all how could they all beat the BLUs and keep from dying if their wings weren't in the best working order?

Sonny hadn't thought much of it at first. After their first battle together the others seemed to pair off in small groups and started preening one another. She didn't think about it because she just wanted to get a shower and Scout seemed to be thinking the same as he went off to the Offense's shower. Her wings were mostly fine for the next few battles and she glossed over the fact. She could preen some parts of her wings well enough herself.

However, after a few days she noticed how some of her feathers were loose but she couldn't get to them or fix them. And since she couldn't preen them very well she couldn't get all the dirt off. She tried to adjust the showerhead to help her out but water couldn't replicate how well hands could align and take care of delicate feathers. It was frustrating and starting to itch somewhat.

So the next day she thought about bringing this up to someone else on the team. But then… She looked around and saw how well the others, even with their odd number, had paired off and were working together. They talked and laughed together, even after losing, as they preened one another. And she just stood there not really knowing what else to do. No one asked if she wanted to join. Sonny couldn't just disrupt them.

They were a team. They'd fought and died together how many times? Yes, she was a part of the team now but she was just getting started. She couldn't help but look at her splintered feathers and drabby wings. She was nothing special. She didn't have any fancy colors or beautiful feather structures. They were so little compared to the others… Just like she was.

Sonny couldn't bring herself to join them. Part of her wondered if maybe they were doing it on purpose. Like they were trying to tell her she didn't belong there. She did sort of just join them out of nowhere. None of them had much warning about it. Plus… While nothing was wrong with crow wings some other people didn't like them. Crows were often paired throughout history with misfortune and death. Perfect, if you're a merc like she'd become. But not the best morale booster for your team.

So she tucked her wings closer to her body than she was often comfortable with and did her best to clean her wings herself. She got used to dealing with her feathers shifting on her and not being able to fix them. She dealt with dust and dirt collecting in them and trying her hardest to get it out in the shower. She got used to being uncomfortable and not being able to pull out the feathers that needed it. She'd deal with it until she could get into a town and go to one of the wing places there. Yes, she might've been able to go to Medic, it was a health issue. But he was part of the team. If he preened her then it would probably be out of pity. And she couldn't take that.

It wasn't even necessarily the wings that bothered her. It was the late nights of trying to get in a comfortable position, it was the times after battles when she'd see the others start preening, it was the odd times during battle when she could stop and take a breather and her feathers would shift in a bad position for her to fly in… It was times like those she'd just feel left out. She tried to tell herself she was a grown woman. She didn't need to 'fit in'. Heck, she was already keeping the fact she was a woman a secret. What did it matter if her wings were smaller than and not as beautiful as the others?

She could handle herself. She could take care of her own wings. That's what she told herself. But sometimes she felt a twinge in her heart that she just wished she could be part of the team. She wore the colors and was in her own class, but she just wanted to be part of the weird flock that made up the REDs. She suddenly understood why she always saw crows out in the wild in groups because not even they wanted to be all alone.


	2. Part of the Flock

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **This is sort of a chapter devoted to how Sonny's teammates see things and how they might be thinking.**

The others weren't exactly blind, but they sometimes could be a little slow on the uptake. It wasn't like they meant to exclude Sonny, they simply didn't think about it. They were all so set in their routine they immediately went to work preening one another after battles. It was a force of habit at this point. Something they did every day to help each other out, and as a source of morale if they lost. So, honestly they just didn't notice how Sonny would slink away after battles.

But the signs were screaming at them soon enough. It started with little things. Like Engie noticing Sonny never seemed to flare his wings out behind him. He always kept them close to his back and the Engineer couldn't help but think it must be uncomfortable. Meanwhile, Sniper would notice through his scope that every now and then Sonny would fly… Off was the only word he could think of. It wasn't like the smaller man was a bad flier or anything but the way his wings shifted in the air it was like he was struggling to correct them or something. Sniper hadn't seen the likes of that before, at least not in a younger person with healthy wings. It wasn't like the younger man had any injuries that would cause such a thing.

Scout noted how Sonny seemed even smaller when his wings were tucked in behind him. He didn't get why the younger man wasn't puffing his wings out like he did. It helped you look bigger and tougher. Demoman noted how a few of Sonny's feathers were sticking out in weird angles but Sonny just sort of shrugged it off and went on his way. Heavy saw how Sonny never seemed to move his wings like he talked. Most people's wings moved in rhythm to how they showed their expressions. Scout's wings would flap all over the place when he talked while someone like Spy always seemed to have his wings under control. But Sonny's wings never seemed to move.

Pyro saw that Sonny's feathers seemed less shiny than they should have been. Normally her feathers seemed to shine and nearly sparkle in the light reflecting various shades of colors. Sonny would deny it and say they were just black but Pyro always saw the colors in there like greens and purples that perhaps Sonny just couldn't see. Now, they looked like a dull black that could've been called grey. He didn't notice it at first, but a few times in battle he stopped and noted it. Soldier was a dense man but even he saw how Sonny's wings were in less than perfect order. Sonny's flapping during battle was louder than it should have been. Louder than him and that was saying something!

Spy was adept at noticing things; it was part of his job. He had to be able to access situations in an instant and react accordingly. He saw that Sonny kept his wings close to himself and rarely used them if not in flight. At first, he believed the younger man to be perhaps timid or more in control than the others. He often kept his own wings from flapping around wildly while in conversations, unlike some of the others. But then he began to see how some of Sonny's feathers were sticking out where they should not have been or were losing their colors and shine. But it seemed that if anyone looked at the younger man's wings for more than a few seconds Sonny would notice and excuse himself.

Medic knew as soon as he paid enough attention. He began mentally kicking himself for it. He should have noticed it far sooner! When he first saw a few of Sonny's feathers out of place he thought she just needed to take more care in her next preening. Then he noticed how she seemed to shift her wings to keep them mostly behind herself. He thought maybe she was self-conscious. She was trying to keep her gender a secret and perhaps she was trying not to draw attention to herself. But then he happened to see her flying in battle. That's when he saw how she was somewhat struggling to change directions and shift for the wind. It clicked in his head and made sense. That, and the way she seemed to always be uncomfortable. No doubt it was due to the poor state her wings were in. The more he looked and saw the worse he felt.

But he didn't immediately understand why her wings were that bad. Until, after the next battle. He'd hoped to preen her wings himself to make sure they were alright but he didn't see her heading toward the group. She slunk off on her own and he took up his usual routine of preening Heavy's wings for him as Sniper did the same for him. None of the others seemed to take note of this and he came to a quick and horrifying realization. None of them had preened Sonny's wings for her!

No wonder her wings were in the state they were. It wasn't like he or the others were being vindictive about it and refusing to help her out. They, much like himself, simply had not paid attention. Most likely thinking someone else was helping Sonny with her wings. And all this time…

He brought it up that same day. The others looked around the group as if to ask each other if they'd even preened their newest teammate. None of them had. The entire time she'd been there. Their own wings shuddered at the thought. Her feathers must be driving her crazy. But she hadn't said anything. Then again, she shouldn't have had to. They should've made their youngest teammate feel welcome and accepted. They all liked the younger member but had been so caught up in their old habits they'd failed to realize things had changed. Sonny was a RED and just as valuable as any of them. They decided then and there to make Sonny feel like a part of the team.

~*~

The next day.

Sonny sighed as she sat down on one of the benches in the respawn room. She wanted nothing more than to take a long hot shower, grab something to eat, and go to bed. Her mood was somewhat sour as stray feathers dug into her skin and itched like mad. She'd somewhat gotten used to it by now but that didn't mean it wasn't irritating all the same. They'd won but she didn't feel much like celebrating.

She planned on slinking off like normal as the others started their preening, this time the chatter all the better after being victorious. But a voice stopped her. "Where do you think you're goin' lad?" she turned to be sure Demo was talking to her. He was and the others had stopped what they were doing to look at her.

"I'm just gonna get a quick shower," she stated and started heading toward the door. "See you all later."

"I don't think so," she actually felt someone grab her wing, not enough to hurt but enough to make sure she couldn't move.

"What are you doing?" she asked Scout.

"Come on," he led her back toward the others. "Looks to me like ya could use a good preenin'."

"But…"

"No buts, kleiner," Medic stated. Scout made sure she was nearly in the center of them and now he could get a proper look at the sorry state of her feathers. All of them could. It was worse than they thought and they felt like shit. "It has come to our attention ve have not… Aided you in preening."

"It's…"

"It's not alright mate," Sniper told her. As he said that he gently unfolded her left wing and started preening it. Sonny was stiff in shock for a second but as soon as he started it felt like she was melting.

Carefully, a few of the others started in on her wings as well and she just stood there and let her wings unfurl little by little. They could almost see the tension seep out of their younger teammate and they couldn't help but feel twinges in their own wings out of sympathy. They had a lot of work to do and they wondered how the other RED wasn't driven insane. All the while Sonny could only stand there and couldn't really even move to start preening someone else. It just felt so wonderful as they worked carefully. She felt like her bones were turning into jelly. She felt them realign her feathers and clean them off.

Another part of her felt all nice and warm. They really did accept her as a part of their team. They cared. By the time they were done Sonny felt so tired she slightly swayed back and forth on her feet. She could barely keep her eyes open. "Come, kleiner," Medic lifted her up and she just let him as he settled her in his arms. "You need to rest."

"But…"

"You'll get one of us next time," Sniper assured her. "We owed ya this much." With that Medic carried her off and placed her in her room. She slept better that night than she had in a long time.

~*~

Later.

Sonny never had to worry about preening ever again. The REDs always seemed to make sure she stayed after battles and was taken care of. She had to say she enjoyed the time with them and the fact her wings were no longer driving her nuts. In turn the REDs noted how Sonny seemed to keep her wings out more and they took on their natural healthy shine. She did far better in battle and overall had a warmer demeanor. They took some pleasure in seeing those sleek black wings flutter around and were proud to call their smallest member part of their unusual flock.


End file.
